The Park Bench
by whitem
Summary: Funny how something as simple as a park bench can be so... important, and helpful.


Yeah, yeah… before ya get too upset, this was one of those Plot Bunnies that could not be ignored, so I had to write it just to get the idea out of my head. Hope Y'all enjoy this weird One-Shot. BTW, it was 26 words over 1000 and that's why I didn't post it there.

The Park Bench

Jenny Markson was just ten years old, and she always thought she could handle any situation she was in. But today proved to her that this wasn't the case.

Her and her parents had just moved to the small quaint town of Middleton Colorado, and they had been walking around the large park that was aptly named Middleton Park. Somehow she got separated from her parents, and at first she thought they would come around a corner at anytime and they would be reunited, but it didn't happen.

She took a deep breath, looked around a bit and pulled the heavy parka around her neck a bit more to stay warm. It wasn't freezing, but there was a chill that made a person want to just stay home in front of a roaring fire.

Finally her eyes landed on a bench next to the walking path she was standing on about fifty feet away. She walked over and sat down, waiting for her parents to show up, but they never did, and she was really starting to worry. In fact, she was starting to think they would never find her, and Jenny was starting to get scared.

Once again she pulled the lined collar of her coat up around her neck in an effort to ward off the cold breeze that had picked. She sniffed, and then she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "Where are you Mommy?" She said to herself, and dropped her head to wipe away the tear.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. Jenny looked up expecting to see one of her parents standing there, but instead it was an older lady who had the most startling green eye eyes.

"Are you OK Dear?"

"I… I think I'm lost." Jenny replied while wiping her gloved hand across her now reddening nose.

"May I sit down with you?" The old woman asked with a smile that gave Jenny a warm feeling, like she was… safe.

The young girl patted the bench next to her, and the old woman sat down with a bit of a groan. "These old knees aren't what they used to be, and this weather doesn't help much either."

The two sat there for a few minutes in silence, which was then broken once again by the older woman. "I think you'll be OK. Your 'rents should be here soon, and then everything will be just fine."

Jenny noted the word the older woman used in reference to the word 'parents', but it hadn't been used in a number of years. Kind of the way the word 'cool' had finally stopped being used.

As they sat there, Jenny's eyes started to droop a bit. "Are you getting tired?"

The question caused the young girl's eyes to snap open. "Yeah… I guess I am."

"You don't feel too cold do you?"

"No. I'm still chilly, but that's it."

"That's good. At least you're not freezing then. If you didn't feel cold at all, then I would be worried. Would you like to put your head on my lap and take a short nap?"

A worried look crossed Jenny's features. "But, what if I miss seeing my parents if they come looking for me?"

"Oh that's fine Jenny. I'll keep an eye out for them." With that said, the young girl put her head down on the older woman's lap, and just before Jenny fell asleep, two thoughts crossed her mind. _I didn't tell this lady my name… and how is she going to know who my parents are?"_

…x x x x…

"Jenny?" A gentle voice said and the young girl then felt a light tap on her shoulder.

The ten year old opened her eyes, and there kneeling next to her was her parents! "Mommy! Daddy! You found me!" The three then hugged each other tightly, and all of them stood.

"We better get going Jenny, it's getting late." Her father said while looking around. "You know it's not a good idea to be taking a nap on a bench in a strange park. Someone could come along and take you." Her father wanted to chastise the young girl, but he was too happy to know she was OK.

"Oh I wasn't by myself Daddy. A nice older lady was with me. In fact, she had let me put my head on her lap. She must have left just before you had shown up. She was nice. I hope to see her again to say Thanks."

Both of her parents narrowed their eyes a bit in confusion, as they had not known their daughter to make up stories. "What did this woman look like?"

Jenny looked around the park while in thought, and then her eyes landed on a statue a few yards from the bench they were standing next to. "Her." Jenny said while pointing at the female figure of the two depicted with the statue. "But she looked much older. Like I said, it was an older lady."

Jenny's mother gasped with her hand in front of her mouth, and her father stood there with his jaw open in surprise. Her mother spoke after the shock wore off. "Jenny, Dear… That's Kim Possible, before she was married to her husband, the boy next to her."

Jenny's father then continued. "Kim passed away just a few years ago of old age. It was all over the country when she passed. She died… what was it Dear? After 65 years of marriage I think?"

His wife just nodded in agreement, and then spoke. "Yes. In fact, he passed then just a few weeks later. They said it was of a broken heart, as there was no other reason why he would have passed so quickly."

Jenny's father was now looking closer at the bench his daughter had been sleeping on. "And it looks like her twin brothers dedicated this bench to the park just last year. Look at the inscription on the backboard there."

Jenny looked at the inscription printed underneath the date and read it out loud. "For Our Sister Kim… Like Her, May This Bench Help Any Wayward or Lost Soul"

The End…

* * *

I had heard a ghost story on late-night radio that made this Plot Bunny nibble at my knee. Creepy, yet kinda neat…


End file.
